ABC News Investigates Carpet Cleaning Coupon Deals

Here are some insider tips when hiring a carpet or tile cleaning company.

See the ABC News Video at the bottom of this article.

First, don’t just hire the cheapest company in your city. With a service, cheaper isn’t always better. Chances are the cheap price cleaners use cheap equipment, cheap chemicals, cheap labor and may not carry valuable liability insurance in the event they damage your carpeting or walk away with your valuables. This is a recipe for disaster. In many cases, these “cheap” cleaners can do more damage than good for your carpet.
Here’s the deal: anyone can start a carpet cleaning business with as little as $500.00. The problem is, over half the carpet cleaning businesses started last year will go out of business within two years due to lack of experience and certification. These companies use cheap equipment and cleaning solutions that cause customer complaints, and in many cases, the client’s carpeting is in worse shape after they’ve been cleaned by one of these companies.  We’ve even seen cheap companies rent carpet cleaning equipment from Publix.
The right carpet cleaning equipment should consist of, at a bare minimum, truck-mounted carpet cleaning equipment. This equipment usually ranges in the neighborhood of $15,000-$50,000. Most of the start-up or “cheap” coupon-based carpet cleaners use portable equipment. Sometimes they use machines rented at a grocery store. Portable cleaning equipment can never do what truck-mounted equipment can. The right chemicals are very important.  Some cheap carpet cleaning companies use a laundry detergent from the grocery store.
Cheap carpet cleaning chemicals are high in residue and cause soil to attract to the carpet after cleaning. In addition, the best cleaning agents for spot removal are never cheap. To get the job done right, a cleaner must have brand name – state-of-the-art spot removal agents in his truck. If he doesn’t, you’ll be left with a poor job.
And what about the guy cleaning your carpet? If the company he works for is cheap, it’s unlikely there was ever a background check done on the guy cleaning in your bedroom. It’s also unlikely much if any, training was done for specialty spot removal.  You can also bet the company does not carry workers’ compensation or liability insurance.  Let the technician get hurt in your home and you’ll find out fast, why this insurance is important.  If the employer doesn’t carry insurance, the homeowner can and will be sued if an employee slips and falls in your home.
And in order for his company to make any profit, the technician is forced to rush through your cleaning at breakneck speed. He wouldn’t be able to do a good job even if he knew how.
If spots return after the cleaning, you’ll likely get a run-around. The cheap companies never guarantee their work and in the rare cases they do, many never return to fix the problem.
If a company charges cheap prices, they can’t afford to give you the best service. If they clean with the right equipment, chemicals, and qualified cleaning technicians, they can’t stay in business charging the cheapest prices. When it comes to hiring a carpet cleaner, you get what you pay for. Don’t be misled with the cheap coupons. The companies that charge cheap prices can’t afford to deliver anything but a cheap service.
When it comes to something as valuable as carpet or tile cleaning, saving a few dollars hiring the wrong cleaner may cost thousands in the long run.
Tru-Clean Surface Care is a family-owned environmentally responsible carpet, tile and upholstery cleaning company and all of our technicians are certified by the world’s most respected certification body for textile professionals. While we can’t compete with the “Bait & Switch” cleaners in terms of bait and switch pricing and poor quality, what we can do is deliver to our customers the deepest clean possible. Our cleaning solutions are environmentally responsible, allergen-free and safe for small children and pets.
When you’re in the market for a quality cleaning you can count on Tru-Clean Surface Care.
For more information on Tru-Clean Surface Care or to view an undercover video by ABC News snagging “bait and switch” carpet cleaners in a sting operation please visit us online at www.trucleansurfacecare.com or “call us on the carpet” anytime at 239-541-4888.
You can also visit us on facebook at https://www.facebook.com/TruCleanSurfaceCareFL/